Ten Months
by Lunar Resonance
Summary: He didn't think preparing for the birth of his child would be this unusual. SoMa.
1. Chapter 1

Two Months

"It's not funny, Soul!"

"They're comparing our child to food, how can it not be funny?"

Maka snaps the laptop shut, giving Soul a dangerous glare. "Well, I think it's cute that our baby's growth is compared to food. What would you suggest they be compared to?"

Recognizing the look in her eyes, Soul hastily relents, edging away from where he sat beside her on their couch ever so slightly. Ever since Maka found out she was pregnant a month ago, not much had changed. But lately her temper was getting shorter and that did not bode well for his head-he had seen stars the last time he earned a Maka chop. "I guess food isn't a bad comparison, if not slightly uncool."

Her eyes narrow. "What's so uncool about a kidney bean?"

Soul can't hold back his laughter. Throwing his head back, he laughs until tears are rolling down his face and he falls on his side in the couch cushions. He can hear Maka's voice growing more annoyed in the background so he pulls himself together and sits up.

"I'm sorry," he says as he wipes his eyes, "but you honestly didn't picture a kidney bean sprouting inside you when Stein said that?"

The smash of "What to Expect When You're Expecting" into his head tells him that no, she hadn't.

* * *

Three Months

He's learned by now not to openly snark about their child's food evolution. When Stein tells them in his flat voice of his that their child is now about the size of a lime, he keeps his mouth shut and shares in Maka's absolute delight that their unborn child has been upgraded to lime status.

But that doesn't stop him from calling the baby "Limey" in his head. It certainly was a great deal better than "Kidney Bean" but he knows Maka wouldn't approve. She almost catches his secret nickname one day when they're window shopping at a baby store.

Holding up a green onesie, she asks him, "Wouldn't this be perfect for Baby?"

He snorts. "Yeah, that would be perfect for Lim-I mean little Baby."

Maka gives him a curious stare. "You okay?"

Soul nods a little vigorously, brushing a hand through his hair. "Just grand."

Lucky for him, she just gives him a curious stare and drops it, turning back to the clothes.

Soul gives out a small sigh of relief. He was going to have to watch himself.

* * *

Four Months

Soul looks thoughtfully at the avocado. This could be the exact weight of his son or daughter. Maka had to go to the last appointment alone because he was on an overnight mission but she had happily reported that their unborn child had now evolved into a bumpy, green fruit. Well not exactly in those words but that's what it translated into for Soul.

Because as he stares at the avocado more and more intensely, he realizes that he doesn't see their child as a person yet. He sees him or her in their comparable fruit stage of development. He's not sure why-only that it is.

A lady stares at him rather curiously and he gives his head a shake and puts the avocado in the basket. Maka was in the mood for ice cream and guacamole and he had been tasked with getting the ingredients for the guacamole.

He puts his sudden realization to the back of his mind and doesn't think of it until Maka blends the guacamole.

* * *

Five Months

He thought the avocado was ridiculous.

But apparently, he stood to be corrected.

A banana. That was what was in his wife's stomach. It was in vain that he had tried to picture an actual person in there, his "fruitization" of his child has become too much.

He considers that maybe the Black Blood took over with him noticing but he sees Maka sometimes unraveling as well, waking him up in the middle of the night with questions of since she ate that one piece (actually three) of cake would that permanently impact their child's future. And then she launches onto a fruits and vegetables only diet for about three days, forcing him to suffer with him.

Today her crazy plan is to finish the baby's room, _even though they still don't know if they're having a boy or a girl._ But when he points out this logical detail, she pouts her little lips, knowing full well he can't resist her when she makes that face.

So that is how they ended up here in a store with more paint colors than candy in Willy Wonka's factory.

Maka had excitedly run off, like a kid in an amusement park and he was designated as the one to carry all the paint samples.

His hands now hold roughly half of the store's colors. One stood out to him though. It was a soft, creamy yellow. Maka had said something about it being a good neutral color for the baby.

It could also be a good skin color, he thinks.

Then he gives himself a sharp metal slap. His child was not a banana. His child was a person.

Who hopefully doesn't look like a banana, the adamant voice in his head chimes in.

He takes this as the sign to go preoccupy himself with Maka, who is currently asking the confused salesperson what the difference is between rose and salmon.

* * *

Six Months

_Well hello there, Cobby,_ Soul thinks as he stares at his wife's protruding stomach. He's given up trying to set his mind straight and instead embraces his fruit-child as he or she is.

Right now, they are about the size of an ear of corn, which he supposes is a good thing. At least it's not as ridiculous as a banana.

Maka happily munches on the cake he made for, the one he labored two hours in the early morning because he can tell her cravings like clockwork now. Suddenly she sets down her fork. Her eyes light up excitedly.

"Baby's kicking again!" She practically yanks him from his seat across the table and places his hand on her belly.

For a moment, there's nothing. Then a little nudge. And then another. Cobby keeps it up for a bit before tiring out.

Maka's smile couldn't grow any wider. "Isn't Baby magical?"

Soul snorts. "A one-of-a-kind wizard."

* * *

Seven Months

Soul's hands move gently up and down Maka's neck, down her back and up to her neck again. Back pain has developed into a problem for her, which worried him but as she and the various baby books told him: it was something that was quite common.

Maka sighs in temporary relief. _Boy for a head of cabbage, you sure do weigh a lot,_ Soul thinks.

His son or daughter has been recently dubbed "Cabby" or as Stein put it, "roughly the size of a head of cabbage." He had fixed Soul with a glare of his glasses, as if he knew what went on in Soul's mind.

Which he probably did.

Luckily Maka is still in the dark and he hopes it stays that way.

These days she gets set off too easily. Her moods change as quickly as they come. He can feel her nervousness, gets a case of the nerves too on occasion. But he tries to keep her steady because she is the one with a cabbage child growing inside her. He hopes he can be this steady when Cabby becomes real.

* * *

Eight Months

A jicama. He hadn't even heard of it until Stein said it. But apparently that was what their child was.

Maka's too tired to do much these days but he works as much as possible so he can be there when his jicama is born.

The nervous tension that started last month stretches even tighter. Now any pain that Maka feels could be It.

And he knows that their jicama is a lively one because he sleeps with one hand on Maka's belly on the nights he's at home and it's become a habit for him to fall asleep with a steady rhythm beating against his hand.

It's this rhythm that jolts him to the realization that jicamas don't move.

But his baby does.

* * *

Nine Months

It's Maka who jokingly brings up the food thing again one day. "Boy, Melon sure is getting heavy."

Soul has to frantically remember if he ever mentioned melon outside of his head and pray that he doesn't talk in his sleep. But from her expression, it doesn't seem like she got it from him.

"I thought you didn't like calling our child by food names," he teases, getting a rise out of her blushing face.

"Well, it's better than calling him or her Baby so shut up," she mutters as she glows even redder.

He doesn't let her live it down for the rest of the week, making cheeky remarks when they pass by a market with melons on sale. He whispers in her ear, "Want to get a brother or sister for _Melon_?"

She might not feel like doing much these days but her aim with the book to his head is still as sharp as ever.

* * *

Ten Months

Pumpkin-head is leaking. Well as Soul drives to the hospital, he rationalizes that it's not actually Pumpkin-head but the fluid surrounding Pumpkin-head. He tries to tell Maka this, to settle his heart that hasn't stopped racing since she gave a little gasp on the couch, the seat under her growing damp, but she's having none of it.

In between deep breaths, she growls, "Keep your eyes on the road, you idiot!"

That kind of clears his mind and even though his heart is still racing, he manages not to completely lose his marbles while they're in the car.

In the hospital, though, everything moves a little too quick for his taste. They had no time to pack, no time to call anyone and from the rate things are going, no one is going to get to the hospital on time. They're rushed to a delivery room and Maka latches onto his hand.

He wants to tell Pumpkin-head to cool it, that they have their mother's temperament, which is certainly not cool in this case.

But Pumpkin-head listens to no one. Maka's yells get louder and her grip on his hand is positively lethal.

Soul has reverted back to his fruit-child stage.

_"You're just a Pumpkin-head,"_ he thinks. _"Just an orange little ball."_

But Maka gives a final groan and the cries that fill the room are certainly human enough. He mechanically cuts the cord and watches as Pumpkin-head is wrapped in a blanket. He has to admit, Pumpkin-head doesn't look like a pumpkin at all, not with those green eyes and white hair.

He holds her closer. She looks like his daughter.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I introduced Maka and Soul's dog in my other fic, "Cerberus." He's just an adorable, black, fluffy dog who acts like a puppy.**

* * *

She may look like his daughter but one thing's for certain: she's got her mother's voice.

"Ahh, colic," Stein had said during their last appointment as he held up their squalling baby girl. "One subject I do not which to experiment with."

Yes, their baby girl was perfectly healthy, which was a relief to both of them, considering the Black Blood risk. It had been something that had worried them since she was born but several blood tests later and they could breathe easy.

And enjoy the fact that she had a fine set of lungs.

It's acceptable during the day but nearly intolerable in the night. As they hear the cry from down the hall for the first time that night, Maka shoves her head under the pillow, promising "to pay him back" if he gets up just this once.

Soul grudgingly gets up, yawning deeply. She's said that the past two nights every time the baby woke them. He intends to cash in on her promise when the opportunity arises.

But at least someone finds it amusing.

From the corner of their room, Cerberus perks his head up from where the dog bed he sleeps in. He barks happily, thinking it's suddenly playtime. He attempts to twist and wind under Soul's feet as he shuffles to the door like when he was a puppy but he just ends up tripping on his own paws. Soul hisses, "You're a grown adult, act like one!" Cerberus just gives another happy bark, his tail out of control.

Maka doesn't react at all, just pulls the sheets higher over her head.

As Soul tries to make his way down the hall without running in Cerberus to his wailing daughter, he thinks that oh yes, next time, it is definitely Maka's turn no matter what she promises. Probably.

But as he opens the door, walks to the crib and picks up his two month old daughter, he melts in her green, tear-filled gaze. Cerberus is glued at his side, looking up eagerly at her and wagging his tail.

For a moment, she looks at Soul, her cheeks red from crying so loudly before slowly starting up the tears again.

Soul leans her against his shoulder, rubbing her back and making what he hopes are soothing shhh-ing sounds. Maka usually likes to sing to "their little angel" but Soul decides to use that as a last resort.

He walks back and forth across the room, rocking her gently but to no avail. Small miracle, Cerberus has finally calmed down and settles himself comfortably on rug by the crib.

Soul is partly amazed and partly relieved. He and Maka hadn't let Cerberus into the baby's room, afraid of the noise and mess he would make but here he was, actually calm.

If only his daughter could be half as calm. Tears squeezed out of her eyes, her mouth permanently open in a wail.

Soul continues to rock her but after ten more minutes of crying, he decides to move onto to rubbing her belly and hopefully seeing her through this bout of tears soon.

He takes a seat in the oak rocking chair that sits by the window, carefully placing her on his lap on her side and rubbing her stomach. He makes sure to keep a gentle but firm support on her little head and neck.

It seems to help some but not enough to stop the tears. Her sobs come out in hiccups. Soul sighed. He didn't like to see his baby girl cry. "It's okay, kid," he murmurs in her ear as he continued to rub her stomach.

Cerberus gets up too quickly for Soul to stop him. He pads over to Soul and rests his face in his lap. Soul freezes, unsure what to do. Cerberus wasn't a bad dog, a pretty good one. But he was also large and extremely playful and Soul and Maka had limited his up-close time with the baby, afraid he might accidentally hurt her.

But Soul relaxes ever so slightly as Cerberus just quietly sits there. He nudges his nose into one of the baby's hand. Her hiccupping sobs pause.

Gently, Soul raises her tiny hand and places it on Cerberus' head. Cerberus doesn't move an inch.

Her hand twitches for a bit, feeling the soft black fur under her fingers. The hiccups have turned into shuddering gasps, the tears nearly gone.

Soul starts rocking her gently in his arms again as her little fingers languidly continue to feel Cerberus' fur.

After what feels like forever, her eyes drift closed and her hand loses her grip on Cerberus. Moving slowly, Soul manages to place her back in her crib, Cerberus silently following him.

He watches her for a few minutes, making sure that she stays asleep. When he turns to leave, he notices Cerberus lying down on the rug again. Soul considers for a minutes and then nods, deciding he's earned the right to be in the baby's room. He gives him a pat on the head on the way out the door.

* * *

Maka's waiting for him, sitting up and reading a book. Soul smirks as he gets into the bed. "I thought you were tired, bookworm."

She smiles sheepishly as she snaps shut the book. "I might have felt a little guilty, okay?" She adds in muttered rush, "Also, our baby is really loud."

Soul chuckles and pulls her toward him. "It's definitely your turn next time."

Pushing him playfully away, she laughs and then gives a puzzled look. "Where's Cerberus?"

Soul pulls her closer. "He helped calm the baby and was actually behaving. He already made a spot for himself in the room so I let him stay."

Maka bites her lip for a moment but then nods. "All right, I trust you. And him."

"Good." He buries his face in her shoulder. "Now I'm here to collect a favor you mentioned earlier…"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Bit of a time skip here but I had this idea stuck in my head. I may go back and write when Maka and Soul just became parents. I hope you enjoy the story!

Lunar

* * *

Soul examined the paper that had been unceremoniously shoved in his hands. It looked like his hair at the very least. Though it was a shocking neon green instead of white because as the artist had said, "Gween is better." But the rest of Soul was a multi-colored mash of shapes and scribbles.

He turned his head and squinted his eyes a little. He could kind of see arms and legs in the mess. There were other scribbles of color besides the Soul-blob but those were indiscernible.

A little huff interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to his nearly three year old daughter, perched precariously besides him on the couch. On the floor under her feet lay Cerberus who followed her everywhere.

"Well?" she demanded impatiently, her little hands on her hips.

Soul smirked. "Well what?"

Her green eyes narrowed, uncannily like her mother's. "What do you fink?" Her insistence on pronouncing certain words wrong like "think" (despite Maka's constant attempts to correct her) ruined the threat in her voice.

Tossing his head back in a laugh, he heard her crossly say, "Don't laugh!" but he couldn't stop. When she got mad, she was too adorable to keep a straight face, just like her mother.

Losing her patience, she scrambled to her feet onto the couch and pounced on his lap. Cerberus followed his little master's suit and nudged playfully at Soul's legs.

"Oof," Soul grunted as he caught the full brunt of her jump. He felt little hands grab his face, forcing him to pay attention to the annoyed two year old in front of him.

She squished his cheeks. "Daddy! Tell me!"

Deciding any more teasing might push his daughter into imitating her mother's chop, he handed the picture back to her. Swinging her off his lap and into his arms, he buried his face into her neck, peppering her with raspberries. "I think it's beautiful," he said between raspberries.

Pushing him back with her free hand, she squealed, "Daddy! Put me down!"

He plopped her back in his lap, sweeping his hand over her white head of hair, trying to fix the rumpled mess it became.

Impatiently, she pushed back his head and turned, straining to look at him. "You really like it?" she asked uncertainly.

"Of course, I do!" he said, rumpling her just-fixed hair. She giggled. "Good!"

Scrambling off his lap, she sprinted back to kitchen table, Cerberus trotting behind her. "I'm gonna finish!"

For several minutes, Soul listened to her furious scribbling as he flipped through channels of the TV.

Maka had been called a few hours ago to a meeting for meisters only by Kid, who had been growing more and more neurotic as the anniversary of the DWMA and subsequent anniversary party drew closer. Maka'd left with a face akin to the face she wore when dealing with Excalibur. Soul was definitely much happier to deal with his daughter, who was much easier to handle and entertain than Kid.

He hoped she would be home to help prepare for dinner because he definitely could not handle "the cook's helper" on his own.

Tiny little footsteps came from the kitchen. _"Speaking of the cook's helper,"_ he thought. She came running out of the kitchen-walking had never even been in her vocabulary.

Skidding to a stop in front of him, Cerberus standing behind her like a bodyguard with an overeager tail. She thrust the picture at him. "All done!" she sang.

Soul looked at the two new mish-mash of colors next the blob that was him. One was a circular mess of black with a line coming from one end. Soul hoped he guessed who it was right.

He spoke slowly. "Is this…Cerberus?"

Her green eyes lit up. "Ye-th!" Soul smiled at her lisp-it was another thing she refused to correct.

She pointed excitedly at the oval figure besides him. "And and and?"

Soul frowned as he examined it. The colors didn't make sense to him as they clearly did to his daughter. _ Maybe it was an imaginary friend or animal of some sort? _He considered for a moment. Then he spoke.

"Is it an angry hippopotamus?"

She let out an aghast gasp. "Daddy, that's Mama!"

And at that moment, Maka decided to walk in the front door. "Mama!" she cried, abandoning Soul with the treasonous picture. She sprinted over to her mother, who was slowly taking off her shoes, clearly tired. Cerberus trailed behind her, licking at Maka's feet. Soul followed quickly behind Cerberus, thinking of what he could possibly say to distract his one-track minded daughter.

Maka smiled, picking her up. "Hi baby girl, did you have fun spending the afternoon with Daddy?"

"Mama, Daddy thought you were an angry hipp-tatamus!" She pointed accusingly at Soul, who was standing in the hallway to the living room, mouth open.

A confused look came over Maka's face and then she narrowed her eyes at Soul. "What?"

Soul raised the picture feebly. "That's…what I thought…your picture…looked like."

"You thought I looked like an angry hippopotamus?" she flatly said, drawing closer to him.

He tried to crack a joke. "Maybe more of a happy one?"

Soul rose shakily from the ground, pushing Cerberus who'd eagerly jumped on him out of the way, his head throbbing from her Maka chop. "Maybe more like an angel?"

"Much better," Maka said, walking past him to the kitchen as their daughter laughed merrily at her father, her marker-stained hands waving at him.


	4. Chapter 4

Soul stares at the dog currently occupying his bath tub in near defeat. He smacks his face, an anguished groan coming from his mouth.

Cerberus looks happily at his master, his tail wagging back and forth. Soul sighs as Cerberus sits in the bath water. Now he has an unbathed little girl and a wet dog to deal with.

He pulls the bathtub plug with a yank, glaring at Cerberus as the dog jumps to his feet now that his master's face is at eye level. "Don't you even dare," Soul warns, "how come you like bath time so much now?"

A giggle echoes from elsewhere. Soul calls out from the open bathroom door. "Corrie, you know it's supposed to be you in there, NOT Cerberus!"

His little girl doesn't answer him, instead she giggles again. It melts Soul's heart, really.

But Maka had charged him with bath time duties after he'd scoffed when she'd complained that bath time with Corrie was difficult. Soul had accepted her challenge with confidence, sure his little girl would be no problem for him. Maka had left to the store with a knowing smirk.

He understands now.

The moment Maka had left Corrie had bolted from the play area, disappearing off to Shinigami-knew-where in the apartment. Soul had figured she'd come out eventually and he had started running the water. But when the bath was ready and Corrie still failed to appear, Soul had gone to search the apartment.

He'd rushed back to the bathroom when he heard a splash, thinking his daughter had finally decided to come out and then panicking thinking she could have fallen in the water.

And now here he is, guiding Cerberus out of the tub, his little girl still nowhere to be found. The draining tub is still half-full as he turns to his dog. "Stay here, Bear," he says sternly.

Cerberus wags his tail once and sits down on the bath mat, staring at Soul adoringly.

"You are such a dork," Soul sighs as he gives him a pat on the head and walks out of the bathroom.

He peeks in the rooms he's already looked in, giving them a onceover. It is beyond him how his daughter can find a hiding place in their shoebox of an apartment but she's managed it.

As he finishes searching his and Maka's bedroom and still no sign of his daughter, he flops on his back on their bed. "I give up, Cor." He figures that if he waits patiently then she'll come out eventually-her curiosity rivals her mother's.

Sure enough, a few minutes later he hears the padded whisper of sock-covered feet drawing close to where he lays. He closes his eyes, pretending to sleep. Slowly, he breathes in and out, making his chest rise and fall rhythmically. He can't overdo it or Corrie, who is as perceptive as her mother, will see through his bluff.

He senses two eyes on him and a few moments later, he feels the bed move as his daughter stealthily (at least to her) crawls atop of it. She pauses for a second once she's gotten her balance, waiting to see if Soul woke up.

Soul gives a little snore and he hears her snicker quietly as she crawls across the bed. There's a pause as she finally reaches him and Soul has to repress a smile.

Then she leaps on top of him. Soul lets out an involuntary groan as the breath is knocked from him. Her knees force themselves into his diaphragm as her hands poke his face impatiently. "Wake up!" she demands.

He squints his eyes open. "I thought you were hiding from me, Cor."

She blows a lock of her unruly hair out of her face, her green eyes bright. "I got you good, Daddy!"

Soul gives her a wide grin. "You mean…like this?!" He flips her back on the bed, tickling in her stomach.

Corrie screams in laugher. "Daddy…no!"

He stops and gives her a noisy raspberry on her cheek. "That's what you get for hiding."

She pushes herself up, brushing her messy hair from her face. Corrie sets her face in a stubborn look and crosses her arms, suddenly serious. "I don't like bath time."

Soul has to keep himself from laughing at her. Corrie's stubborn look is reminiscent of Maka's but it marvels him that she looks so much like him.

Although she has her mother's wide green eyes, she has his white hair (which she likes to where wild and free, much to Maka's dismay) and his tan complexion. When she yawns, so wide that her eyes snap closed, she looks just like him.

He didn't think he would go absolutely nuts over his child, like Spirit used to do with Maka (still did actually), but then Corrie was born and quite simply, his world turned itself on its head.

He feels a tug on his arm and looks down to see his daughter staring at him. "Daddy, why is your face all weird?"

Soul slaps himself internally as he realizes he just went slightly Spirit on his daughter. He ruffles her already untidy hair. "Nothing, Cor. And now it's time your bath or your mother is going to kill me."

She crosses her arms again, jutting her bottom lip out willfully. "I don't wanna."

He decides to resort to bribing. Soul surprises her by nodding in agreement. "All right then. But then I guess there won't be ice cream either."

Her eyes light up. "Ice cream?"

Soul nods again. "But only for little girls who have taken a bath."

She bites her lip, thinking. He can see the ice cream tempting her and then- "Okay!"

He cheers in victory in his mind. "Good choice, Corrie. Go find your pajamas and get ready." He gives another raspberry. She squeals and pushes his offending lips away.

Then she scrambles off his lap and runs off for her room.

Stretching, Soul rises from the bed and heads back to the bathroom.

Cerberus is still sitting on the bath mat though he gets up excitedly when he sees Soul.

"Oi, back on the mat, Bear. You're soaking wet," Soul says, pushing the dog back.

Grabbing a clean towel, he kneels down and begins to dry Cerberus. Then a scream nearly stops his heart.

He drops the towel and runs into the hall, heading for Corrie's room, Cerberus at his heels.

Corrie bursts from her room, running towards him. "Daddy, Daddy, fix it!" she screams as she near impales him accidentally with her transformed arm.

Soul catches her in his arms, hoisting her up. He gazes down at the green and silver blade that used to be her right arm. His heart swells in pride for a second before the sobs of his daughter registers in his ears.

He rocks her like when she was a baby, patting her back while Cerberus paces anxiously around him. "Shh, it's okay, Corrie. You're okay, sweetie."

Corrie looks at him, sobs slowing but tears still flowing. "No, I'm not! I'm gonna die!"

Shifting to her to one of his arms, he says, "No, you're just like Daddy. Look." With a flash, he transforms his arm to a scythe up to his elbow like her.

Her tears stop as she gapes at Soul's blade. Then she looks back at her own transformed arm. "You mean," she says sniffling as she wipes her tears away, "I'm not gonna die?"

"Of course not," Soul tells her comfortingly. "You're just special, like me."

"O-okay," she hesitantly accepts. With that, her tears stop completely. Then a questioning look comes upon her face. "How do I change it back?"

Soul places her back on the ground, where Cerberus licks her face eagerly, and squats down to face her, eye-to-eye. He raises his own blade for a demonstration. "You kind of relax and close your eyes and you let your arm be an arm again." His blade flashes and turns back into an arm. "See?"

Corrie looks doubtfully at him. "But what if I can't do it?" she asks in a whisper.

"You can," Soul says, looking into her eyes. "Do you remember what it's like to color with your hand, how it feels when you pet Cerberus?"

She nods a little, her normal arm wrapping around Cerberus' neck for comfort.

"Good," he says. "Picture that, Cor. C'mon, let's try now." He transforms his arm again. "We'll do it together."

She looks a little less scared and a little more confident when she sees Soul's blade, which relieves him, considering he has no idea if this will work or not. Then she nods in agreement determinedly.

"All right," Soul puts a hand on her shoulder. "On the count of three. One…close your eyes…two…relax…three."

There's two flashes in the hallway. Corrie yells excitedly when she sees her blade is an arm again, triggering another licking spree from Cerberus.

Soul smiles proudly. "See? I knew you could do it."

She grins back, just as proud. The clock from the living room suddenly chimes, marking the late hour.

"Oh no," Soul groans, picking her up. "Maka's gonna kill me!"

"Who's Maka?" Corrie asks curiously.

He's about to answer but he gets distracted when he feels something wet on his feet. He realizes his mistake as he stares down at the growing puddle surrounding Cerberus, who is still sopping wet.

Shaking his head, he decides the more important thing is to get Corrie bathed and continues down the hall.

As he gets her into the tub, finally, she continues to pester him about Maka. "Uh, Maka is your mama's name," he says absently as he squirts shampoo in his hands. He pushes a nosy Cerberus out of his way. "_Down, _Bear."

She squeezes her eyes closed as he rubs the shampoo in her hair. "I thought Mama was her name! Does that mean I can call her that?"

Soul panics a little at the thought of Maka's reaction if Corrie called anything other than "Mama" and panics a little more thinking of what would happen to him when she found out where Corrie had gotten her information. "No, no you are certainly not allowed to call her that, young lady."

She pouts her lips a little but doesn't protest. Soul thanks Shinigami for small parenting miracles.

All in all, he's not doing too badly, he thinks.

He manages to get her showered without stuffing his foot in his mouth again and finishes brushing her hair just as Maka opens the apartment door.

"I'm home!" she calls, shutting the door.

"Mama!" Corrie yells as she runs out the door, Cerberus following her.

Soul hastily runs out to the hallway with a towel and mops up the water before going out to meet his wife. He finds her in the living room, holding Corrie who is excitedly talking a mile a minute and pointing at her arm. Cerberus circles the two happily.

Corrie gestures towards Soul as he enters the room. "And Daddy can change too!"

"Oh can he?" Maka says. She looks at Soul. "Seems you two had an adventure while I was out."

"You don't know the half of it," Soul says exhaustedly.

"Another weapon in the family will be interesting," Maka muses as she rubs her daughter's damp hair. "Your grandpapa will certainly be pleased."

"Can we call him now?" Corrie asks eagerly.

"That will have to wait till morning, Corrie. It's time for little girls to get to bed," Maka says firmly.

Corrie's eyes widen defiantly. "But Daddy said I could have ice cream, _Maka_!"

Maka's eyes, on the other hand, narrow dangerously. She looks at Soul. "What did she just call me?"

Soul offers, "Um, you really don't know the half of it?"

The look on her face marks him for dead later but he's safe for now as she reluctantly takes their daughter into the kitchen for her ice cream, while telling her in no uncertain terms that Mama is the only name she's allowed to call her.

Soul feels Cerberus walk up to him and lick his hand. He decides that, despite the chop to the head he'll most likely be receiving later, bath time is his favorite time.


	5. Chapter 5

Soul's woken up rather rudely by an excited Maka who's talking a mile a minute while fidgeting with their old video camera. Cerberus, who had somehow managed to sneak in their room during the night and fall asleep atop of Soul naturally, perks up eagerly from the bed. He pushes his unruly dog off of him and stretches tiredly. It's a Saturday and the sun hasn't even risen fully yet but that doesn't seem to matter to his wife or year-old daughter.

But all he has to hear is "she's about to walk" and he and Cerberus are out of the bed and following her out into their living room where Corrie hugs the leg of the coffee table with one hand while sucking on the thumb of her other hand. Cerberus trots from Soul's side to stand next to Corrie. Save for his wagging tail, he's unusually still, studying his little master.

Her little brow is furrowed as her green eyes study the floor in front of her. Tentatively, she lets go of the table. She stops sucking her thumb too so clearly she means business. Soul stands behind Maka, who has positioned herself in front of Corrie, clearly determined not to miss this milestone.

Corrie teeters on her chubby little feet, her toes wriggling as if deciding whether to take that first step or not. For a second, it looks like she's going to do it. Then, with a comical plop, Corrie falls back on her little bottom. She pouts a little bit at this unexpected twist. Cerberus pokes his nose in her face so she doesn't cry but giggles instead.

Maka lets out the breath she had been holding. "Drat!" She puts down the video camera on the coffee table. "I was so sure she was going to do it too. She looked so determined this time!"

Soul chuckles and picks up Corrie. "Perfection like this takes time."

Maka smiles and walks over to kiss her daughter's face but she still looks slightly worried. "She's already over a year old, though. She should have at least taken her first step by now, shouldn't she?"

"Just because you were an overachiever and started walking at eight months doesn't mean we were all like that," Soul cracks jokingly.

Maka sticks her tongue out at him. "Haha."

"She'll walk eventually," Soul assures her. "Anyways, Stein said she was completely healthy and that some babies don't even walk until they're nearly two."

She relents. "You're right." She kisses Corrie again and then says, "Well since we're all up, I guess I'll make us a pancake breakfast." At the word "breakfast" Cerberus' ears twitch excitedly and he follows Maka into the kitchen.

The rest of the day passes in normal fashion, although during dinner Corrie suddenly decides food is for throwing and not eating. In the seconds it takes Maka to get Corrie's plate away from her, Corrie manages to get most of her container of mashed bananas into Maka's hair.

However, Maka takes it in stride handing off Corrie, who is very messy herself, and table-cleaning duties to Soul while she goes to wash out her hair.

Soul shakes his head while he picks up plates while holding Corrie with his other arm. "A move like that would have gotten anyone else killed." Corrie smiles up at him happily, mashed bananas all over her face. "But then, no one else is as cute as you."

He sets her down on the floor by the table, out of the way, where Cerberus immediately tries to lick her face but then finds bananas don't taste all that good. Shaking his head again, he finds Corrie some of her favorite toys while Cerberus settles next to where she plays. In a mock-stern voice, he says, "I can trust you not to get into any more trouble, right Cor?"

His daughter doesn't answer him, too absorbed in the flashing lights of her toys. Soul smiles. "Good. You're in charge, Bear." Cerberus answers with a single wag of his tail.

He takes a peek at Corrie now and then from the kitchen as he washes the dishes but thankfully she's kept sufficiently busy with Cerberus and her toys.

Soul dries the last plate with a final wipe of the towel. "All done."

He starts walking to where he left Corrie. "I bet your mama's almost done, Cor, so we better get…you…ready…"

His mouth drops as he takes in Corrie standing, one hand on Cerberus. He panics as he tries to figure out what to do-Maka would be upset if she didn't see her daughter's first steps.

Approaching his daughter as he would a drunk Black*Star, he speaks in what he thinks is a calming tone. "Hey, Cor, let's just slow things down for a second, okay?"

His daughter looks at him amusedly and releases her grip on Cerberus. Soul raises his voice while not taking his eyes off Corrie. "Maka, she's about to walk!"

There's a sound of the shower being turned off. "No, tell her to wait for me!"

"I don't think this is something that can wait!" Soul yells back.

He can hear frantic noises coming from the bathroom. "Well you better find a way!"

Soul looks at Corrie, who's wriggling her toes again, a warning sign. "You might want hold off on that, Cor, or Mama's gonna kill Daddy." Apparently, panicking Soul is funny Soul because Corrie starts giggling.

This gives Maka enough time to wrench open the bathroom door, clad in a robe with a towel wrapped around her hair. She grabs the video camera from the living room and skids to a stop beside Soul.

"I didn't miss it, did I?" she asks breathlessly as she fiddles with the camera.

Soul grins at her, thoroughly entertained by his unintentionally funny wife. "Nope, you came just in time."

"Good." Maka focuses the camera on Corrie, who has stopped giggling and started wriggling her toes again.

Peering through the camera, Maka encourages Corrie. "That's it, sweetie. Walk to Mama and Daddy."

Corrie cautiously puts one foot in front of her, testing the waters. It's at this moment that Cerberus decides to trot away from where he was standing behind Corrie.

Both Maka and Soul gasp as Corrie wavers on her feet. Then with a happy gurgle, she totters after Cerberus.

Maka squeals while Soul thinks he'd never thought he'd be this pleased to see someone walk.

Corrie doesn't get too far though-she loses her balance after a few steps. But she immediately pushes herself back to her feet and is off again.

Maka beams at Soul. "I knew she could do it!"

Soul laughs but then stops, a new thought occurring to him. "You know what this means."

"What?"

"Baby-proofing all the doors and drawers."

They both give a little groan as Corrie finally latches onto Cerberus.


End file.
